Aftermath
by Whistling Fish
Summary: Stately Wayne Manor in ruins who's the strange woman who is to blame?


This is a work of Fan Fiction and is not intended to infringe anyone's

Copyright.

Aftermath

By

Whistling Fish

Tim Drake surveyed the smoldering remains of the East wing of what had once been stately Wayne Manor and sadly shook his head. The fire crews were rolling up their hoses and collection up equipment, getting ready to depart. Tim picked his route carefully though the rubble, towards a tall thin man wearing a smoked streaked tailed jacket who was using a mobile phone to organizing cleaning crews and builder. He marveled at the man's calm resilience. Here he was standing the remains of his home discussing multimillion dollar contracts to put right this devastation as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. He could have been phoning in his weekly grocery order.

"Err.. you ok Alfred?" Tim enquired as the man pressed the button to end the call.

"Yes sir, apart from seeing one's place of employment and one's home going up in flames, perfectly fine!"

Tim noted for the first time Alfred's underlying emotion, not sadness, but anger.

"Where's Bruce?" Tim asked hesitantly. "I bet he's feeling, pretty bad."

Alfred nodded, "As usual he's blaming himself for everything that's gone wrong.

I've spent hours, telling him, it wasn't his fault. It was that woman, she had him under her spell!" He said bitterly. "To look at her you'd never had guessed she was such a threat! Such a lovely looking woman. And from England too." he said shaking his head.

"Mmm, yep, I know he's had a thing for English ladies ever since he met Princess Di at that charity event in London." Tim remarked.

"Yes, well, this one was no Princess Di. She had him under her spell in minutes, with her soft voice and easy relaxed manner. I'm sure she had him hypnotizes. I can't account for it in any other way." Tim nodded sadly.

"Bruce is in the study if you want him." The custodian off Wayne Manor said nodding towards where the door had once been.

Alfred's phone rang shrilly and with a sigh he answered it, and was again occupied with the business of getting Wayne Manor back to it's previously stately condition.

Tim found Bruce huddled in a chair staring up at his parent portrait. His

clothes and face were blackened from the smoke, a clean white bandage covered most of his right arm.

"Bruce", Tim said gently.

The man didn't move it was as if Tim wasn't there.

"Well, at least this room is pretty much ok, apart from a bit of smoke damage!"

Tim remarked positively. "I don't expect the cave was effected at all."

Again there was no answer.

Finally Bruce muttered, "She was, just so believable, so lovely and her voice, it just..." he paused shaking his head sadly. "She had me convinced it was the right thing to do. I knew it was wrong, but I was powerless to stop myself!"

Alfred walked into the room. "Master Bruce, I've organized the cleaning crew who will be here in two hours and the builders will start work in the morning."

"Thanks Alfred, I'm just so sorry I ever listened to that woman. You told me she was wrong for me, but I was just .... I'm just not a good judge of women!"

Alfred shook his head sadly. "No use crying over spilt milk master Bruce.Everyone is safe the house can be fixed. So lets be grateful for that."

"Bruce, Alfred, where are you guys!" Dick Grayson yelled as he rushed through the house.

"In here!" Tim shouted

Dick skidded into the room.

"God what a mess! Are you guys ok?" He asked anxiously, looking from one to the other. "I just couldn't believe it when Babs phoned to tell me! What happened!Was it Joker and that fruit cake girlfriend of his?"

"We're perfectly fine thank you young man! As for who is to blame for this mess, well, I'd say it was You!" Alfred replied frostily!

"Me!" Exclaimed a startled Dick.

"Yes you! It was you who introduced Master Bruce to that woman! Brought her into this house! Let her wheedle her way into Master Bruce's life, now look at the results!"

"But.. What woman?" Dick asked confused?

Alfred picked up the tape off the top of the VCR and threw it at Dick's head,"That Woman!!"

Dick caught the tape deftly and looked at the title. Finally he understood. "You mean this is the cause of all this Devastation!"

"Delia Smith's Basic Cooking Course, an easy step by step guide to everyday cooking!" he read off the label.

"She said anyone could do it." Bruce muttered again. "I was a fool to believe her. Custard isn't easy to make."


End file.
